It is time, once again, for New words to live by. This is a word or phrase not currently in use in the U.S. English lexicon, but might need to be considered. Other words, such as obsurd, crumpify, subsus, flib, congressed, and others, can be found by clicking on the tags below. Today’s New Word is a compounding of a word and a a phrase. Without further waiting, Holiday Horse Latitudes is the new phrase for this month.
OLD WORDS
Holiday, n. A time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc. Often a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
It’s not easy to glide through the Holiday Horse Latitudes.
Horse Latitudes, n. The horse latitudes are located at about 30 to 38 degrees north and south of the equator. According to legend, the term comes from ships sailing to the New World that would often become stalled for days or even weeks when they encountered areas of high pressure and calm winds. Many of these ships carried horses to the Americas as part of their cargo. Unable to sail and resupply due to lack of wind, crews often ran out of drinking water. To conserve scarce water, sailors on these ships would sometimes throw the horses they were transporting overboard. Thus, the phrase “horse latitudes” was born. Source: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/horse-latitudes.html
NEW WORD
Holiday Horse Latitudes, n. That time of year, usually shortly after the first of a new year, when all the major holidays have been celebrated and there is not another one for several months. Usually Memorial Day, which is the end of May, in the U.S.
All that is left are a few lesser-celebrated holidays, such as President’s Day, and overly hyped pseudo-holidays like the Super Bowl.
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